The last qualifier in the series fished at Larford Lakes. Conditions was heavy rain all day, a strong breeze with temperatures tumbling to just 15 degrees. Winner today and into another Golden Reel Final was Jordan Holloway with an impressive 329-0-0 from peg 26 on the Match Burr. Jordan fished short and down his edges with meat landing quality carp from start to finish. Second on the day was Perry Stone from peg 23 on the Match Burr Bank. Perry weighed in 189-10-0 all caught down his edges with meat. Perry is already though to the Semi Finals so his ...
Todays conditions were a dull day with a moderate breeze and highs of around 18C. Winner today and through to the September 30th final was Dan Bennet from peg 12 on the Moat Outer Pool. Dan fished a perfect match catching most of his fish shallow on pellet and later down his edges to weigh in a massive 406-13-0. Second on the day was Jamie Hughes from peg 5 on Bridge Outer. Normally, Jamie would have done enough to reach the final with an impressive 228-7-0. Jamie caught shallow and down his edges. Third to frame was Steve Forster from ...
Match & Specimen Lakes. A high pressure made for a difficult match with fish swimming shallow and massive groups of fish feeding down the edges, but very difficult to catch. There was highs of around 24-25C with no breeze. Winner today and making his first ever Golden Reel Final was Jason Davies from peg 22 on the Match Lake. Jason too full advantage of an end peg draw to the burr bank and from the whistle had loads of carp feeding down both edges. Jason fed micros, catching on corn, pellet and dead reds, putting together a match winning 216-12-0 ...
Difficult conditions today with a stiff breeze, partial cloud and highs of just 18C. Winner today and straight through to the September 30th Grand final was Matt Pillay. Matt drew peg 85 on pool 5 and fished all day on the long pole tight to his edges with pellet, landing a level 200lbs of carp. Matt gets through to his first Golden Reel Final. Second on the day and rewarded with a semi final placing was Dan Hull from peg 86 on pool 6. Dan fished his edges all day with pellet and corn on hook baits over micro pellets ...
Today’s conditions were very strong breeze, partial cloud with strong sunshine and highs of around 24C. Winner today and though to the Grand Final was George Parker who drew peg 27 on the River Bank side. George fished a simple match, fishing bomb and pellet at 50m. George landed an all carp catch weighing in 125-0-0. Second on the day was Jamie Hughes from peg 101. Jamie was just short of a win with 120-13-0, 4 lbs short of a place in the final. Jamie had a few carp early, fishing shallow and later found carp feeding to his bomb ...
Conditions for this latest qualifier were sunny spells, gentle breeze with highs of around 22C. Winner on the day and progressing to the September final was Adrian Twist won the day with a fine bag of carp and F1’s. Ade fished shallow with maggot hook baits landing 143-9-0 from peg 81 on covey 4. Second on the day was Dan Bennet from peg 81 on Covey 4. Dan fished caster shallow weighing in 123-7-0. As Dan is already in the Semi Final, it’s passed down to 4th place overall. Third to frame was Artur Hilmi from 163 on Covey 6 ...
Conditions for todays qualifier was heavy rain all day with highs of around 20C Winner and progressing to the September Grand Final was Ryan Lidgard from peg 6 on Moat outer. Ryan fished a faultless match, weighing in 229-15-0, all caught on the method feeder cast to the corner of the lake. Ryan caught on waffters and pellet hook baits. Second placed Richard Evans drew peg 17 on bridge outer weighing in 201-2-0. Richard caught on the method feeder and later down his edges and rewarded with a Semi Final placing. Third to frame was Jason Dunworth from peg 54 ...
Conditions for this latest qualifier were heavy rain overnight, very strong breeze, showers and partial sunshine with highs of around 22C What a qualifier with tremendous weights recorded on both lake despite the near impossible wind conditions, plenty of carp and bream caught. Winner today and into his second Golden Reel Final is Peter Upperton who drew peg 14 on the Specimen Lake Burr. Pete fished a tremendous match, landing a massive 433-8-0 of huge carp. His best fish went 24lb 6oz and the rest averaged 15-20lbs. Pete caught on the meat down his edges. In all he could have ...
70 anglers turned out for this latest qualifier. Conditions for the day being difficult with gale force winds, heavy rain and highs of around 22C Winner today and progressing to the Grand Final was Ryan Bennett, who makes his third appearance in the finals. Ryan drew peg 1 on the Match lake and started on the method feeder short. Later switching to his edge, Ryan hammered out a brilliant 299-3-0 of quality carp and F1’s all caught over micro pellet with dead red hook baits. Ryan probably should have weighed nearer 350lbs but was knocked back on two nets. Second ...
Conditions for this latest qualifier being humid with highs of 23C and quite a strong breeze. Winner today was Matt Roberts from peg 16 on Laurels. Matt fished caster shallow feeding heavily to catch carp and F1’s that scaled in at 176-7-0 for a comfortable win and a place in the Grand Final. Second on the day was Artur Hilmi from peg 19 on Laurels. Artur also fished caster shallow landing 144-3-0 and earning a place in the semi finals. Third to frame was Les Marshall from peg 33 on the willows lake. Like most of the field, Les fished ...
Golden Reel Qualifier No14, Barston Lakes, Saturday 8th July 2023 For this latest qualifier at Barston Lakes today, the conditions were warm and humid with odd heavy showers, mixed with bright spells. Winner today and progressing to the final was Ryan MacDonald from peg 121. Ryan caught some early fish slapping with pellet and later fishing bomb & pellet to land 225-14-0 and a place in the September Grand final. Second on the day was Warren Jennings from peg 114. Warren fished bomb & pellet for most of the match, landing carp and bream that scaled in at 165-0-0 Warren ...
Conditions for this latest qualifier were highs of around 21C, breezy and a mixture of sun and partial cloud. Winner today making his way to the September Grand Final was Dean Lock from peg 3 on Lambsdown. Dean fished pellet shallow and later down his edges landing a superb bag of carp that scaled in at 294-8-0. Second on the day and grabbing a Semi Final placing was Paul Fox from peg 1 on Lambsdown. Paul weighed in 237-0-0 of carp all caught on the pellet shallow with some late fish down his edges. Third placed Mark Griffiths makes the ...
A red hot 29C with very little breeze greeting the competitors today. Needless to say most of the carp were swimming shallow on both the moat and bridge outer lakes. Winner and making yet another Golden Reel Final was Andy Power who drew peg 78 on Moat outer. Andy netted a massive 407-2-0 all on pellet shallow fished long & short. The Preston backed angler now in all 3 major finals. Second on the day was Steve Forster (Browning) who drew peg 9 on Moat Outer. Steve fished pellet shallow, landing 266-5-0 and rewarded with a place in the semi ...
Conditions today, red hot with highs of around 28-30C Burning sunshine with a gentle south west wind. Fish were all on the top on both lakes and difficult to catch. Winner today and straight into the grand final was Jack O’Sullivan who drew peg 16 on the Specimen Lake. Jack arrived at his peg with little showing, but after an hour, carp drifted down with the wind and fishing shallow and slapping produced a massive 331-7-0 of carp to 15lbs+ Second placed Ben Evenden drew peg 15 next to the winner on the Specmen Lake. Ben also fished shallow on ...
Golden Reel Championship Qualifier No 10, Partridge Lakes, Saturday 4th June 2023 A blistering hot day here at Partridge Lakes with temperatures reaching a burning 30C with little or no breeze. Needless to say, fish were swimming shallow and difficult to catch. Winner today and progressing to the Grand Final was Lee Thornton (Middy) from peg 18 on Covey 1. Lee fished shallow, slapping with meat hook bait and landing 60lbs of good carp in the first hour of the match. He continued to catch on this method adding carp and F1’s and later fishing to depth down his edges, ...
An excellent turnout for this latest qualifier. Conditions for the match however was difficult due to heavy spawning. Highs of around 22C with little breeze and burning sunshine. Winner today was young Harry Campbell who should be watched as he is certainly going to be a big star of the future. Harry drew peg 1 on covey 1 and caught the majority of his catch fishing shallow landing carp and F1’s to pellet and maggot to record a massive catch of 167-10-0 on a very difficult day. Harry’s through to the September Grand Final and certainly one to watch out ...
Anglers today faced a tough match as the fish at the Glebe had been spawning heavily. On top of that, temperatures were around 20-21C with bright sunshine all day. All that being said, there was a number of impressive weights recorded. Winner today and making his third Grand Final was Sam Brown (Maver) from peg No 126 on Pool 9. Sam was not impressed with his draw but it turned out trumps for him with a level 300-0-0lbs. Sam fished shallow rig and later finding a few down his edge finishing 88lbs clear of his nearest rival. Second on the ...
Warm and bright conditions at Lindholme Lakes, with just a gentle breeze and highs of around 19C Winner today, and progressing to the September Grand Final was Dale Shepherd from peg 9 on the Loco Lake. Dale fished caster shallow for most of the day, landing lots of F1’s and carp to weigh in a massive 311-4-0. Second placed Andy Power (Preston), secures a semi final placing from peg 19 on Loco. Andy also fished caster shallow, weighing in 273-7-0 of quality F1’s and carp. Third to frame and booking a semi final placing was Oliver Scotthorne (Drennan), who drew ...
A new venue for Golden Reel here at Float Fish Farm in Cambridgeshire. Lakes fished today were Horseshoe / Wagtail / Phoenix and Islands. Winner today progressing to the Grand Final was Kieron Rich from peg 31 on Phoenix. A great result for Kieron as he’d never fished the venue before. Kieron fished the caster shallow, landing over 70lbs of ide and carp that scaled in at a total of 135-0-0. Second overall was Simon Skelton from peg 8 on Wagtail. Simon fished the long pole with pellet fished to depth, landing 133-8-0, just 2 1/2lbs short of a finalist ...
A full sell out for this Sunday qualifier. Conditions today were a very cool 11-12 and a strong breeze. Overnight had seen heavy rain and wind. Winner today and progressing to the final was Rob Taylor (Guru / Mainline) who drew peg 85 on pool 5. Rob kept things pretty simple, catching on the 16m line down his edges with pellet and also long pole shallow with pellet weighing in an impressive 195-4-0. Second overall was Kurtis Tranter, who drew peg 6 on Pool 1. Kurtis fished the waggler across with pellet and also bomb and pellet weighing in 174-10-0 ...
A good turnout for this latest qualifier with the Specimen & Match Lakes hosting the match. Conditions today, not ideal with a near frost on the previous evening and highs of just 12C. Heavy rain overnight, also cooling down the water temperature and reducing oxygen levels. Winner today and on his way to the September final was Des Shipp (Preston) who drew peg 32 on the Match Lake. Des fished meat for all the match short landing large carp and F1’s that scaled in at 229-0-0. Second placed Ben Evenden (Pablorwc Floats) drew peg 27 on the Match Lake, fishing ...
Lakes – Willow, Laurels, Strip, Loco & Beeches Qualifier No3 at the superb Lindhome lakes, conditions were good with only a gentle breeze, mainly clear skies and highs of around 14C. Winner today was on form Ian Giddins (Garbolino) who only last week qualified from Lindholme for the Fish O Mania final. Remarkably, Ian drew the same lake that he drew last week, pulling out peg 34 in the corner with the breeze in his face. Fishing a jigger and caster shallow, Ian caught steady all day, landing quality F1’s and carp for an impressive 248-9-0 and booking his place ...
An excellent attendance for the second Golden Reel Qualifier. Conditions today were bright warm sunshine with highs of around 14C and a gentle breeze. Winner today and progressing to the September Grand Final was Steve Freeman. Steve drew peg 24 on Magpie and fished meat short in both his left and right hand margins, landing a superb bag of carp and F1’s that scaled in at 313-2-0. Second on the day was Ben Townsend (Matrix) who drew Magpie peg no 36. Ben also fished tight to the reeds in the margin on meat, weighing in 304-0-0 and a qualification spot ...
Lakes – Covey 1-5, Spey, Marsh & Willows. A near sell-out with 92 anglers fishing todays qualifier. Conditions were bright with a cool wind and highs of around 12C First qualifier through to the Grand Final was Fish O champion Kristian Jones (RW Floats, Blakes Baits) with a very impressive 171-2-0. Kristian caught on maggot shallow and meat short, landing F1’s and carp from peg 6 on Covey 1. A brilliant performance, rewarding him with a finalist place in the September Grand Final. Second on the day with 162-0-0 from peg 10 on Covey 1 was Jack Howarth (Leigh tackle ...
Match & Specimen Lakes. 70 anglers booked onto the final qualifier of the 2022 Golden Reel campaign. Conditions today were bright sunshine with highs of around 23C and a gentle easterly wind. Winner today and progressing to the Grand Final on September 10th was Adam Rumble (Preston) who drew peg 19 on the Match Lake. Adam caught early, fishing shallow and later found carp and F1’s racked up down his edges finishing the day with a massive 250-14-0. Second on the day was John Harvey (Wales) with 245-6-0 from peg 20 on the Match Lake. It was nip and tuck ...
60 anglers turned out for this latest qualifier. Conditions today was warm with highs of 23C and a strong breeze with clear skies. Winner today and reaching his second Golden Reel Final was Mick Bull (Frenzee) who drew the outstanding peg 124. This is the peg everyone wants to draw and Mick made no mistakes to qualify for the 2022 Grand Final. Mick started on the long pole shallow but quickly switched to bomb and pellet casting to his right hand reed edge, netting a massive 310-10-0, putting him 152lbs clear of his nearest rival. Second placed Kioran Rich qualifies ...
Lakes – Covey 1-6 & Spey Blistering conditions, highs of 34C, no breeze and burning sunshine despite these horrific conditions in terms of angling, there were some superb weights recorded. Winner today and progressing to the 2022 Grand Final was Lee Riley (Baits Tec) who drew peg 105 on Covey 5. Lee fished hard pellet down his edges and to the aerator, fishing shallow with casters weighing in 169-15-0. A strange day with F1’s shutting shop but the carp making up the top weights. Second overall was Jamie Hughes (Matrix) who drew peg 121 on Covey 5. Jamie fished shallow ...
A respectable turnout for this latest qualifier. Conditions being a pleasant 24C with very little breeze, sunny with clear skies all day. Winner today and heading into the September Grand Final was Mike McMillan (Garbolino) from peg 24 on the Oak Lake Mike fished pretty well all day fishing shallow with pellet having to be patient with the carp swimming shallow. Later finding half a dozen big carp down his edges to win the match with an impressive 275-10-0. Second placed Simon Skelton makes the all important Semi Final with 229-11-0 from peg 9 on Oak. Simon also fished shallow ...
Condition for this match being sunny with highs of around 24C and a gentle breeze. Very muggy conditions forcing the fish to swim shallow across the whole of the complex. Winner today with an impressive 218-12-0 was Matt McGuire from peg 7 on the Specimen Lake. Matt fished from the new burr bank catching all his carp at just 5m to 8mm pellet and feeding heavily with 6mm pellet. Matt landed carp to 20lbs. Second placed Neil McKinnon (Preston) drew peg 16 on the Match Burr Bank weighing in 190-11-0 of carp and F1’s. Neil fished short and down his ...
A respectable turnout for this latest qualifier. Conditions on the day was bright sunshine and highs of around 22C. Winner today and progressing to the September 10th Grand final was John Alexander who drew peg 34 on the Laurels Lake. John weighed in 178-15-0 of carp and F1’s, all caught on casters fished shallow. John had already qualified for a Semi Final placing so this is now handed down the top 6 listings. Second on the day was Kristian Jones from peg 16 on the Laurels Lake. Kristian weighed in 176-6-0 all caught on the pellet fished to depth. One ...
Conditions for this latest qualifier were highs of around 23C and a gentle breeze and mainly clear skies, but overcast later in the afternoon. Winner today and progressing to the September final was Danny Crewe (Tackle Shack), who drew peg 6 on the Moat Outer Lake. Danny fished the method feeder mainly down his edges feeding pellet and fishing on waffter hook bait landing some prime carp that tipped the scales at a massive 336-12-0. Second on the day was Vic Molynux from peg 9 on the Moat Outer with 233-15 of carp all caught shallow and later down the ...
Blistering hot conditions with highs of around 26C. Bright sunshine with a gentle breeze. Winner today with a massive 221-0-0 was Lee Thorton (Middy) from peg 3 on Meadow Lake. The burning heat resulted in most of the resident carp swimming shallow and that meant Lee had to resort to mugging tactics, fishing shallow on pellet. Later catching a few down his edges and booking his September Grand Final placing. Second to the frame was local rod Paul Cook who drew peg 18 on High Meadows. Paul fished pellet shallow all day, landing 143-12-0 and a place in the Semi ...
Conditions for this latest qualifier was difficult with highs of around 25C, strong breeze with bright sunshine. It was also a pretty breathless day with fish swimming shallow and difficult to catch. Winner today and progressing to the Grand Final was John Jones (Middy / Burt Baits) from peg 18 on the river bank. John fished at 16m slapping all day. Fishing a banded 8mm pellet and feeding very little, John went on to land 219-4-0. Second on the day was Steve Openshaw (Mossella) who drew peg 17. Steve also fished long & shallow all day with pellet hook baits ...
Conditions on the day were bright with highs of around 22C and a stiff breeze. Winner today and progressing to the Grand Final was Adam Major (Wensom Valley / Matrix) who drew peg 104 on lake 7. Adam fished a feeder tight across with a combination of pellet or maggot over ground bait, landing an all carp catch that tipped the scales at 168-14-0 Second overall and qualifying for the Semi Finals was Glebe regular Luke Bamford (Middy) who drew peg 5 on Lake 1 Luke fished the paste at 13m landing some big lumps to finish the day on ...
Todays qualifier presented strange conditions with highs of around 20C but breathless and humid. Clearly a high pressure had set in and fish could be seen everywhere cruising but very difficult to catch. Winner today and progressing to the Grand Final was former England International, Des Shipp (Preston) who drew peg 62 and the Lambsdown Lake. Des fished a brilliant match catching 50lbs+ of bream hard on the deck with luncheon meat. Then a change in tactics as Des resorted to a shallow rig on meat which produced some fine double figure carp and approx. 100lbs of carp. Later in ...
With a big drop in temperature, cloudy skies and highs of just 16C, also a very strong breeze making float fishing near impossible. Winner on the day with a brilliant 178-4-0 was Arthur Hilmi from peg 14 on the willows Lake. Arthur caught all of his fish shallow with casters and now progresses to the September Grand Final. Second on the day with 174-0-0 was Steve Openshaw (Mossella UK) with 174-0-0. Steve drew peg 63 on Bonsai landing an all F1 catch to caster shallow. Steve is already in the Semi Finals so his placing is passed on to third ...
A wet and very cool day with quite strong winds greeted the field today for this latest qualifier. A drop in temperature from 32C to 18C was never going to make for big weights. That being said, some very good weights were recorded with 10 weights or more breaking the 100lbs mark. Winner today and progressing to the September Grand Final was Sam Brown (Maver) who recorded a superb 221-8-0 from peg 4 on Elm. Sam had the wind blowing down to his corner and chose to fish maggot down his edges over pellet, landing some big carp and F1’s ...
A near full house for this latest qualifier. Conditions were 18C but a stiff breeze. Otherwise, clear skies but cooled as the day progressed. Winner today and progressing to the September Grand Final was Ian Latham (Tricast) from peg 107 on covey 5. Ian fished maggot shallow all day landing 194-4-0 for a comfortable overall win. Second on the day and grabbing a Semi Final placing was Mike Rogerson (Preston Innovations) from peg 105 on Covey 5. Mike fished caster shallow and to depth catching F1’s and carp weighing in 137-3-0. Also making it through to the Semi Final was ...
60 anglers turned out for this latest qualifier. Conditions today presented a big weather change with highs of just 12C all day, heavy overnight rain with dull skies all day and a heavy breeze. Fish on the Match Lake were quickly down the edges but very difficult to catch and the carp on the Specimen Lake, which were swimming shallow, were also difficult to catch. Winner today, and progressing the September Grand final was Herefords Neil Colcombe, who drew peg 1 on the Specimen Chalet road bank. Neil fished most of his match down the edges with maggots over ground ...
High fuel costs and rising prices nationwide is certainly having an adverse effect on numbers. A poor turn out for this latest qualifier at Woodlands View. Conditions on the day were good with clear skies and highs of around 18C and a gentle breeze. Winner today an progressing to the September Final was Steve Roberts (Oakengates) who drew peg 17 on Front Deans. Steve caught mainly down his edges with maggots weighing in 134-0-0. Second in the frame was John Harvey (Preston) from peg 31 on Front Deans. John fished shallow with pellet and later down his edges with maggots ...
Conditions today were good with highs of around 21C, a gentle SW breeze with clear skies and sunshine all day. Clearly carp could be seen everywhere swimming shallow in numbers, so the plan of attack in general was fish shallow. Winner today and progressing to his first Golden Reel Final was Barry Byrd who drew fancied peg 124. 124 had not produced a winning weight for some time, but was bang on form for this important qualifier. Barry started the day fishing the bomb at distance with PVA bag loaded with pellet catching a few early carp and skimmers. Later ...
Lakes – Match & Specimen Conditions for this latest qualifier was near perfect with bright skies and highs of 22C. A good breeze on both lakes and fish swimming shallow with carp and F1’s down all the margins. Tactics today were clearly pole shallow and pellet waggler. Winner today and progressing to a second Golden Reel Final was Dave Roberts who drew peg 1 on the Specimen burr bank. Dave fished the pellet waggler and pole shallow with pellet and waffters landing some early carp and then later down his edges with dead reds over ground bait. Dave finished the ...
82 anglers turned out for qualifier No7 at the Mighty Glebe Fishery. Conditions again were favourable with clear skies, a warm 18C and gentle breeze. Winner today was Zac Worby-Smith from peg 98 on Pool 7. Zac caught all his carp shallow with pellet and later down his edges again with pellet weighing in 189-8-0. Only last week Zac qualified for the Match This final and now has a shot at the Golden Reel title too. At just 20 years of age, this young gun is certainly looking to be one of the biggest names in match fishing and is ...
Conditions today were favourable with clear sky’s and highs of around 18C and a gentle breeze. Needless to say, there was lots of carp swimming shallow but not easy to catch. Winner today and progressing to the September Grand Final was Matt Dawes (Preston) who drew peg 30 on Meadows. Matt made the most of his end peg draw by fishing shallow with pellet and later down his edges again with pellet hook baits, weighing in a brilliant 293-10-0 of quality carp. Second overall was Jimmy Brooks (Sonu Baits) who drew peg 15 on the Bank Pool. Jimmy caught shallow ...
A warm day for this latest qualifier with clear skies, little or no breeze and highs of around 17C. Fish could be seen everywhere swimming shallow so overall, that was clearly the main plan of attack. Winner today and progressing to yet another Golden Reel Final was Preston’s Andy Power who drew peg 112 on pool 8. Andy fished the long pole shallow with pellet catching carp shallow and also mugging tactics. Andy finished the day with a brilliant 298-0-0. Second overall was in form Mark Griffiths (Guru) who drew peg 20 on Lake 1. Mark caught all his fish ...
Once again Larford Lakes was battered with a strong easterly wind. Temperatures also fell to just 10C with bright skies all day. All that being said, some excellent weights were recorded off both the Match & Specimen Lakes. Winner overall and making it through to his second Golden Reel Grand Final was Pete (The Meat) Upperton. Pete (Guru/Mainline) drew peg 15 on the Match Lake and on setting up, it was evident that his edges were holding a good head of F1’s and carp. Pete fished a simple match by fishing short and down his edges with meat hook baits, ...
Decent conditions greeted the field today with bright sky’s, highs of around 15C and a pleasant breeze. Winner today and making his way through to the September Grand Final was Dale Shepherd. Dale drew peg 6 on Benny’s Lake and chose to fish Maggot shallow and later down his edges. His tactics were spot on, landing a massive 319-8-0 for a very comfortable win. Second on the day and qualifying for the Semi Finals was John Alexander from peg 10 on Benny’s. John fished caster shallow landing 257-7-0. John's catch was made up from quality F1’s and carp. Third to ...
Very cold conditions for this latest qualifier. A hard early morning frost registering just -3C, followed by clear sky's and temperatures rising to just 8C at best. Also a stiff easterly wind to cap it off. Winner today and progressing to the September Grand final was Tom Newton who drew peg 23 on the Moat Outer Lake. Tom fished the long pole shallow all day with pellet shallow landing 101-13-0 of prime carp. Second on the day was Lewis Mifsud from peg 28 on the Moat Outer Lake. Lewis fished down his edges with worm hook baits over ground bait, ...
Conditions more like early January greeted the contestants for the first qualifier of 2022. Temperatures of minus 3C and only reaching a maximum of 8C by the end of the five hour qualifier. On top of that, the field had to face rain, snow and hail coupled with a very strong north wind. Winner today was Jordan Holloway (Preston) who drew peg 6 on the Warren Lake Jordan fished corn down his edges from the off only having one big carp bagged up to the last hour. Bites then came into play down his edge with eleven carp, between 11-12lbs ...
Larford Lakes, Match & Specimen Lake A dull and overcast day with highs of around 18c and a gentle breeze. So conditions looked good and weights were plentiful on both lakes. The winner on each lake of 24 anglers would put them in the Grand Final and a chance of lifting the crown and a massive £50,000 pay day. Winner on the Match Lake and certain to be a big threat in the final was Alex Walker who drew peg 24 on the grass bank. Alex caught on the method feeder casting close to the island with banded pellet landing ...
Well that’s it! The last qualifier of the 2021 Golden Reel Championship campaign finishing up at Larford Lakes. With just one finalist and two Semi Finalists remaining, it was all to play for. Conditions on the day presented a high pressure change and with very heavy overnight rain and thundery conditions, it was never going to be easy. That being said, it was Andy Christie who grabbed the last automatic qualification placing with a brilliant 225-7-0 from peg 15 on the Match Lake Burr. Andy fished tight down his edges and also chased carp swimming shallow to secure his victory ...
Eighty anglers turned out for this latest qualifier. Conditions were overcast and cooler with highs of just 18C. Winner today and through to the prestigious Grand Final was Andy Kinder (Maver). Andy drew peg 84 on Pool 5 fishing a very tidy match launching the feeder tight across to land approx. 120lbs of carp. Later switching to his margins, Andy landed a further 100lbs of prime carp all caught on the pole over ground bait to finish the day with 222-1-0. Second placed Mark Griffiths (Guru Mainline) drew peg 90 on pool 6. Mark weighed in 198-10-0 all caught on ...
A much better turnout for this latest qualifier. Conditions on the day were overcast with light rain showers and highs of 20C. Winner today progressing to the Grand Final was Chris Weeder Snr who drew peg 121 on Covey 5. Chris fished caster and maggot shallow and down his edge over ground bait and pellet hook baits. Chris ended the day with 179-13-0 of carp and F1’s. Second overall and making it through to the Semi Final was Rob Parker (Warrington Tackle and Gun) who drew peg 133 on Covey 6. Rob fished hard pellets down his edges landing 167-1-0 ...
Conditions today were much cooler with highs of only 18C. A stiff wind also made for difficult presentation on the day. Winner today and progressing to the September 11th Grand Final was Paddy McMahon who drew peg 20 on the river bank pegs. Paddy’s simple approach was PVA bags fished both short and long with various waffter hook baits. Paddy was rewarded with some good carp that weighed in at 89-0-0. Second overall was Darren Sanders from peg 124. Darren fished the method feeder short and pellet waggler ending up just one fish short of the overall winner with 82-2-0 ...
Lakes – Match & Specimen. 70 anglers fished this latest qualifier. Conditions for the match were good with highs of around 22C, a gentle breeze and bright sunshine. Winner today and progressing to the September Grand Final was Perry Stone (Cresta) who drew peg 5 on the Specimen Lake. Watching Perry, I have to say I witnessed a near perfect performance on the pellet waggler and the long pole shallow. Perry fished the pellet waggler at around 30m with banded 8mm pellet and later in the day fished the pole at 16m, finishing the day with a massive 266-3-0 of ...
Temperatures for this latest qualifier reduced to a pleasant 22C with a gentle breeze and partial cloud cover. Winner today with a massive 267-6-0 was James Hall (Browning). James drew peg 2 on Laurels and fished pellet short and caster short and later caught tight down his edges. James now progresses to the September Grand Final. Second overall and qualifying for the Semi Final was Jimmy Brooks (Preston / Sonu) who drew peg 15 on Laurels. Jimmy was a couple of fish short from an instant place in the final weighing in 261-5-0. Fishing casters shallow landing a bumper bag ...
Lakes Elm, Cedar, Oak & 6 Islands. Barry Mason (Guru / Mainline) has been a big supporter of the Golden Reel qualifiers and was rewarded today with a place on the September Grand Final. Barry drew peg 22 on 6 Islands and fished most of the match on corn tight down his edges. This tactic produced a superb bag of carp which weighed in at 224-9-0 and well clear of his nearest rival. A big well done to Barry. Second on the day was Simon Skelton (Dynamite / Melton Mowbray Pork Pies) who drew peg 1 on Elm. Simon fished ...
Lakes – Lambsdown / Warren. Conditions for this latest qualifier were warm with a light breeze and highs of around 20C. Winner today and progressing to the September Grand Final was fishery owner Mick Bull (Frenzee / Bag’em) from peg 1 on Lambsdown. Mick knew he had drawn a flyer and started on the long pole shallow catching carp from the off. Bad luck in that his pole folded so he reverted to both pellet waggler and bomb & pellet. Needless to say, both the bomb and waggler worked well for him producing some carp weighing in at 273-12-0. Second ...
Lakes – Match & Specimen. A muggy and still day. Fish were swimming shallow everywhere so the match started slow with the odd fish being caught shallow on pellet long. As the day went on, fish started to feed down the edges and fishing short with meat & pellet. Winner today and progressing to the September Final was Ashley Blunt who drew the burr bank, peg 16 on the Match Lake. Ash fished the channel by the island mugging for most of the match on pellet, landing some good carp and F1’s to finish the day with 250-10-0. Second placed ...
Condition for this latest qualifier were good with sunshine, gentle breeze and highs of around 22C. Winner today with a massive 216-8-0 was Andy Power (Preston). Andy drew peg 51 on the river bank and opted to fish the long pole slapping with banded pellet. Andy now qualifies for the September Grand Final and is the first angler to qualify for every final so far. Second on the day was Mark Stainsby who drew peg 49, next door to Andy Power. Mark caught a couple of carp early on the pellet waggler and then reverted to bomb and pellet fishing ...
Lakes – Front Deans, back deans, High & Arles. Conditions today were near perfect with a gentle breeze and highs of around 20C. Winner today and progressing to the September Final was Steve Openshaw (Mossella) who drew peg 34 on Arles. No one deserves a final place more than Steve who supports the event at almost all the qualifiers. Steve fished caster shallow at various lengths bagging up carp and F1’s to weigh in 183-4-0. Second overall and taking a Semi final placing was local rod Kevin Slade who drew peg 23 on Deans. Kev caught on caster shallow and ...
Conditions on the day were difficult with bright sunshine and very little breeze. Highs of around 20C with fish swimming shallow on both lakes. Also attendance was disappointing with just 58 anglers in attendance. Winner today and progressing to the September Grand Final was Scott Jones who drew peg 21 on the Match Lake. Scott fished tight down his edges with soft pellet over micro and a few fish at 6m recording a superb catch of carp and F1’s weighing in at 203-4-0. Second overall was Krzystof Frackowiak from peg 18 on the Match Lake. krz fished the margin with ...
Lakes 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9 A disappointing mid week turnout with 71 anglers fishing. Conditions today being muggy 30C with no breeze and bright sunshine. Needles to say all the carp were swimming shallow and difficult to catch. Winner today and progressing to the September final was Ken Portas (Sheffield) from peg 1 on Lake 1. Ken fished short on pellet shallow landing 219-4-0 and a shot at the winners purse of £50K Second overall was Andy Power (Preston) with 205-0-0 of carp all caught on pellet waggler and pole shallow with pellets. Andy has ...
Lakes – Covey 1,2,3,4,5,6 & Willow Red hot conditions and very little breeze today. Spawning had also slowed things down but all that being said, catches were excellent for the 87 man field of competitors. Winner today, and progressing to the September Grand Final, was 5 times world champion Alan Scotthorne (Drennan) who drew peg 163 on Covey 6. Alan fished caster shallow across to the reeds landing carp and F1’s winning the match with 201-4-0. Second overall and reaching the semi final was Graham Ramsdale from peg 166 on covey 6 with 173-14-0. Graham fished caster shallow landing carp ...
Lakes:- Willows, Bonsai, Loco, Laurels. Lindholme had a huge spawning just prior to this qualifier so fishing was always going to be hard. Perhaps the spawning had kept a few competitors away as attendance was disappointing with 74 anglers booked on. Winner today and making his way once again to the Golden Reel Final was Andy Bennett (Guru / Blake Baits) with 197-8-0 from peg 48 on the Willows. Andy fished caster shallow all day landing carp and F1’s comfortably winning the match. Second placed Dale Shepherd drew peg 40 on the Willows fishing caster shallow to weigh in 170-0-0 ...
Lakes Beastie, Cedar, Yew, Oak, 6 Islands & Elm Qualifier number nine with Decoy Lakes hosting this latest qualifier with an attendance of 82 anglers taking part. Conditions were bright sunshine with highs of around 24C and little or no breeze. Following heavy spawing the week prior to the match, we were expecting a difficult match with many of the resident carp swimming shallow. However how wrong to think that the weights would be low, with no less than 42 of the field recording over 100lbs. Winner today with a massive 364-7-0 was Jordan Holloway (Preston) from peg 8 on ...
Lakes – High, Front Deans, Back Deans & Hay. Due to a clash of dates with Fish O Maina, Preston Feeder, Barston plus other local matches, the attendance at Woodlands was very disappointing with only 54 in attendance. With conditions improving and highs of around 18C, light breeze and mainly sunshine, things were looking good for some big weights and Woodlands view delivered just that. Winner today with a massive 209-4-0 was Welsh International Lee Edwards (Dorking Daiwa). Lee drew peg 34 on Back Deans and fished casters shallow long landing carp and F1’s. Lee qualifies for his first Golden ...
A clash with Fish O Mania reduced the attendance to 71 anglers for this latest qualifier. Conditions today was dry with a gentle but cool breeze and partial sunshine and highs of around 14C. Winner today and making his way to a third Golden Reel final was Tom Edwards (Daiwa) from peg 100 on pool 7. Tom caught well on the long pole fishing shallow with casters landing around 60lbs of prime bream and over a 100lbs of carp to finish the day with 166-9-0 and a shot at the £50K final overall prize. Second to the frame was Kieron ...
A full sellout for this qualifier at Barston Lakes. Conditions were awful with a cold northerly wind and heavy showers. Needless to say the winter conditions affected the lakes badly and bites were difficult to come by. Winner today and progressing to the September Grand Final was local angler John Jones (Middy / Burt Baits). John drew peg No14 on the river bank and caught on short to start with but later switched to the method feeder long with waffter hook baits landing 99-5-0 of carp and F1’s for a comfortable win. Second overall was Fran O’Rielly (Frenzee / Bag’em) ...
Specimen, Match and Arena Lakes. A full house of anglers for the 5th qualifier of the series. Conditions today looked to be difficult with a stiff breeze, highs of just 12C and heavy rain. Furthermore, rain for most of the week had reduced temperature of the water substantially. On top of all that the bream & roach had spawned so the resident carp were homing on the spawn to feed. All that being said, weights were still impressive with 18 weights well over 100lbs mark. Winner today and progressing to the September Grand Final was Jon Radford (Bait Tec.) with ...
A near sell out of 92 anglers at Woodlands Thirsk. Conditions were a strong breeze, highs of just 10C with heavy showers. The run up to this qualifier had also seen cold temperatures, heavy rain, hail and strong winds. Water temperatures were considerably down for the time of year but the fishing was outstanding on the day. Winner overall and progressing to the September Grand Final was Kev Wadge from Partridge 1 with a brilliant 202-12-0 of carp all caught shallow at 16m on pellet. Kev now has a shot at the £50k title. 2nd overall was Ethan Bradley from ...
This latest qualifier was reduced to 80 pegs so to present better pegging and was a near sell out of 75 anglers. Winner overall and progressing to the September Grand Final was Andy Fulleylove from peg63. Andy fished at 16m with the pole shallow presenting hard banded pellet and pinging over the top. At the scales, Andy weighed in 187-3-0 almost doubling his nearest rival with quality carp. Second to the frame and securing a semi final placing was Jon Arthur (Matrix) from peg 61. Jon also fished the long pole shallow with hard pellet landing 94-15-0. Third to the ...
A near sell out of 92 anglers turned out hoping to grab a qualification placing and a chance to bag a massive £50K. Winner today from peg 37 on the Partridge Lake was Ryan Bennett with a massive 191-11-0 of carp. Ryan fished the long pole all day fishing pellet shallow and slapping with a few fish also down his edge. This is Ryan’s second attendance at the Grand Final in September. Second overall and securing a place in the semi-final was Andy Bennett (Guru/ Blakes Baits) who drew peg 35 on Kestrel. Andy caught stockies from the off and ...
The first of the 24 qualifiers took place at Larford Lakes with a sell out entry Conditions today were not favourable with a heavy frost and a number of snow showers with heights rising no more than 6C The first qualifier was set on both the Specimen and Match Lakes. Winner on the day Paul Carnwell (Garbolino /Bait Tec) who drew peg 40 on the Specimen Lake. Paul had a slow start finding a few skimmers and odd bream but half way through the match found the carp feeding down his edges over ground bait. Fishing either a piece of ...
40 anglers on Match & Specimen Lakes Wednesday the 9th put together the 40 semi finalists all hoping to qualify for Saturdays Grand Final. The semi was fished with 20 anglers drawn on the Match Lake and 20 on the Specimen Lake. To qualify, the anglers had to win their lake. Winner on the Match Lake and progressing to Saturdays final was Tony Coates who drew peg 28 on the Match Lake. Tony fished a very impressive match, catching shallow on pellet and tight down his edges to weigh in a massive 222-6-0. Very well done and a place in ...
Match & Specimen Lakes. 90 anglers turned out for the final qualifier of the Golden Reel 2020 campaign. With just the Semi-final to stage on Wednesday 9th September, where two further anglers will qualify for Saturday’s Grand Final making a Grand final of 22 anglers fishing for the massive £50,000 first prize. Conditions for the final qualifier were difficult with near flat calm conditions, muggy with highs of 22C and a definite pressure change. Fish were swimming shallow and difficult to catch with little space for the anglers due to the size of the entry. Winner today and progressing to ...
A pleasant day for all the competitors with a warm 22C, gentle breeze and clear skies throughout the day. Winner today was Ben Townsend (Matrix / Spotted Fin ) from peg 22 on the Oak Lake. Ben fished a simple match fishing hard pellet down his edges all day landing a brilliant 228-13-0 of carp and securing his place in the Grand Final on September 12th. Chasing Ben was Jimmy Brookes (Preston / Sonu baits) from peg 30 on the Beastie Lake. Jimmy caught most of his carp catch fishing shallow with pellet weighing in 218-2-0 falling short of qualification ...
Highs of just 9C on our arrival with temperatures only reaching 15C. Heavy rain and stiff winds also made for difficult conditions. It was more like autumn than late August. Winner today was Jason Dunworth (Advanced Angling Solutions) who drew peg 105 on pool 7. Jason fished the feeder tight across with caster and dead reds, landing 235-8-0. Jason now qualifies for the September Grand Final and a shot at the £50k winners purse. Second overall was Callum Dicks (Maver) who drew peg 81 on pool 5. Callum caught on the feeder with pellet and later short on the pole ...
The superb Weston Pools at Oswestry hosted 67 anglers for qualifier No 17. Conditions today were pretty good. Just a few early showers, but followed with a gentle breeze, sunshine with highs of around 21C. Winner today and progressing to the September 12th Grand Final was Chris Weeder Jnr (RW Floats / Preston NW) who qualifier for his second Golden Reel Qualifier with 199-2-0 of big F1’s and carp from peg 25 on the Belvedere Lake. Chris fished caster shallow to the lily pads and later pellet short to secure his victory. Second on the day was Rob Swan (Gruru ...
A very different day for this latest qualifier with heavy rain and much lower temperatures. Highs of around 20C and stiff breeze all day soaking the 71 strong field of anglers. Winner today was paste king, Luke Bamford who drew peg 115 on Lake 8. From the off, Luke attacked the edges with paste feeding pellet. Luke was quickly into carp finishing the day with a bumper bag of carp that weighed in at a massive 284-10-0. Luke books his place in the September Grand final and a shot at the £50k purse and Golden Reel 2020 title. Second overall ...
Another good turn out for this latest qualifier with 83 anglers booked on. Conditions were better with warm sunshine, a gentle breeze and highs of around 24C. Winner today and progressing to his first Golden Reel Grand final was Lee Riley (Bait Tec) from peg 50 on Covey 3. Lee was into carp and F1’s from the word go, fishing shallow with pellet and caster and later down his edges landing a superb 235-0-0. Second on the day was Jamie Hughes (Matrix) from peg 133 on Covey 6. Jamies approach was shallow with pellet rewarding him with a fine bag ...
Temperatures rose to an alarming 35C for this latest qualifier added to this, both the Specimen and the Match Lake had hosted a five day festival and big open matches on the weekends before and after the festival. Needless to say, intense heat, little or no breeze and substantial angling pressure made for a difficult match. 74 anglers were pegged around the Specimen and Match Lakes and it was Perry Stone (Cresta) who took the latest qualification place with 156-13-0 from peg 34 on the Match Lake. Perry dobbed for some early carp with pellet, switched to the method casting ...
A breezy overcast day with highs of around 18-20C. A near sell out of 90 anglers all hoping to grad a grand final place in September. Winner overall, and progressing to the September 12th Grand Final was Matt Wiles who put in a faultless performance landing 290-2-0 from Willows peg 29. Matt mugged most of his carp on hard pellets and later switched to his edges with hard pellet over micro’s. Second on the day and qualifying for the September 9th semi final was Wayne Shepherd from peg 2 on the Beastie Lake. Wayne caught on the feeder and down ...
Match & Specimen Lakes. An excellent turnout of 96 anglers, just 4 short of a sell out. Conditions on the day was a light breeze, showers and a high of around 20C. Winner on the day was Fran O’Rielly (Frenzee / Bag’em) who drew peg 31 on the Match Lake. Fran caught fishing shallow at 13m with hard pellet and later switched to his edges with worm hook baits over ground bait, landing quality carp and F1’s, weighing in at 177-12-0. Fran gets a second chance at the big money final having previously qualified for this prestigious event. Second overall ...
Pools – Match, Match pool, bridge, Canal, Island & Meadows A superb turnout for a Wednesday qualifier with 94 anglers supporting the qualifier, hoping to secure a finalist spot. Winner today with a impressive 198-8-0 was Ryan McKinlay (Colmic) with a all F1 catch from the Match Lake on peg 1. Ryan fished the caster shallow at 13m landing prime F1’s and a few bonus carp. Ryan progresses to his first Golden Reel Grand Final and a shot at the £50,000 winning purse. Second overall was Mitch Rawlinson (Fishing republic) who drew peg 4 on the Match Lake. Mitch fished ...
A well supported midweek qualifier that hosted 62 anglers at halfway point of the 2020 Golden Reel Qualifier campaign. Both the Specimen and Match Lakes provided generous pegging and produced 14 weights over 100lbs. Winner today was Garreth Lenox from peg 46 on the Match Lake. Garreth caught all his fish with the long pole tight down his edge with 6mm pellet and corn over micro’s which produced a fine bag of carp to 12lbs and a total weight of 184-12-0. Garreth now progresses to his first Golden Reel Grand Final, with a shot at the £50,000 winners purse. Second ...
Lakes 1-9 Hosting the latest qualifier was the mighty Glebe complex. Conditions on the day looked favourable with mainly overcast skies, a stiff breeze and highs of around 20C. Winner today and topping the 100 peg sell-out was Sam Brown (Maver / Evolved Baits) from peg 85 on lake 5. Sam chose to fish the long pole down his edge with pellets and later down his edge shorter with dead reds over groundbait. Weighing in 220-1-0 of carp to 10lbs and progressing to his first Golden Reel Grand Final. Second on the day and pressing the overall winner to the ...
Lakes – Match & Specimen This latest mid-week qualifier was not so well supported with 61 anglers participating. Conditions on the day were humid with highs of around 20C, a gentle breeze with mainly overcast skies and light showers. Winner overall and progressing to the September Grand Final was James Evans (Solihull AC / Smithies Angling) from fancies peg 46 on the Match Lake burr bank. James fished bomb & pellet early in the match and then reverted to long pole shallow with pellet. Later switching to his edges, the carp and f1’s were lined up. His feed was pellet ...
Again a sell out 100 qualifier. Conditions on the day presented a change in temperature falling substantially to around 18C. Strong winds and heavy showers also made for difficult conditions. Winner on the day was Tom Edwards (Diawa/ Advantage Baits) who drew peg 6 on Bennys Lake. Tom fished caster and pellet shallow landing a bumper bag of prime F1’s and a few bonus carp to weigh in 181-7-0. Tom progresses to his second Golden Reel Final on the bounce. Carl O’Brien was second on the day. Fishing caster shallow and late corn over groundbait down his edges, Carl ended ...
Lakes Match, Specimen & Arena. Seriously hot conditions with temperatures of 32C, little or no breeze and a full field of 100 anglers was always going to make for a difficult qualifier. That being said, Mikey Williams (Guru) broke the match lake record with a massive 401-8-0 of carp and F1’s from peg 30 on the Match Lake. Mike fished the pole shallow with dead reds and casters for most of the match, bagging 130lbs in the first hour. Later switching to his edges, fishing corn over ground bait, qualifying in style and smashing the lake record! Mike progresses to ...
Lakes :- Hay, Barley, Front Deans, Back Deans, High and Arles. 86 anglers turned out for this latest qualifier. Conditions on the day were humid with highs of around 22C. Winner today with a weight of 146-10-0 was Sam Slockett (Preston / Sonu Baits) who drew peg 62 on Back Deans. Sam fished banded pellet down his edges landing carp and F1’s. Sam progresses to the September Grand Final and a shot at the £50k title. 2nd overall was Mike McMillan (Garbolino / Spotted Fin) with 138-13-0 from peg 10 on Hay. Mike fished the long pole with pellet, bagging ...
Lakes :- Covey 1-6 & Spey Lakes. A full 100 peg sell out for the popular Partridge Lakes. Conditions for the match was very warm, almost breathless with highs of around 24C. Winner overall, and progressing to the September Grand final was Kieran Marsden who drew peg 149 on Covey 6. Fishing tight across with pellet and maggot shallow, the Crester-Dynamite sponsored angler produced a stunning performance, landing a massive 197-1-0. Second on the day was Lee Thornton (Middy) from peg 141 on Covey 6. Lee fished pellet shallow and to depth, landing carp and F1’s to weigh 187-3-0. Lee ...
Following red hot temperatures in excess of 27C, the qualifier faced a rapid temperature change with highs of only 14C on the day of the qualifier. This big change to the conditions put the resident Specimen Lake carp into a moody situation with very few carp prepared to feed. The Match Lake was a different story with plenty of carp and F1’s feeding well. The Arena was also moody with most of the resident carp swimming shallow. The 100 peg sell out was handled well with social distancing both at the draw and at the pegs. Every effort was applied ...
Lakes – High, Arles, Front Deans & Back Deans. Seventy two anglers made their way to the popular Woodlands View complex to compete for a converted Grand Final placing for the 2020 Golden Reel Final. The winner today was Andy Power (Preston) from peg 22 on front Deans. On drawing his peg, Andy’s approach was the long pole fished at 14m with maggot fished shallow. Consistent and accurate feeding produced carp and F1s from the whistle with some good quality carp boosting his overall weight to 139-0-0 and a place once again in the 2020 Grand Final. Second to the ...
Lakes – Cambell, Kary, Lodge, Match and middle. A total of 78 anglers travelled to the popular Viaduct fishery in Somerset to hopefully clinch a place in the 2020 Golden Reel Grand Final. Conditions on the day were near perfect with bright sunshine, a gentle wind and highs of around 14C. Winner today and progressing to the final was John Hannam (South Wales) who drew peg 135 on Campbell. John new the peg well having qualified from it only days before to reach the Fish O Mania final. So John now has the chance to compete for a staggering £100k ...
Golden Reel Qualifier No 24, final qualifier Partridge Lakes Saturday 17th August 2019. The last of the 2019 qualifiers took place at the superb Partridge Lakes Complex. A considerable amount of rain had filled the lakes to capacity adding colour ...
The field of anglers today anglers arrived at Barston facing very heavy rain which lashed down all day and was also coupled with a stiff wind making for very unpliant conditions indeed. Highs of just 14C which resembled autumn conditions ...
Lakes - Bonsai, Laurels and Willow. Qualifier No 22 at the brilliant Lindholme fishery, Doncaster. 42 anglers took part on what can only be described as horrific conditions. The lakes were lashed with 50mph winds with some heavy showers also ...
Specimen, Match and Arena Lakes. A full 100 sell out for this latest qualifier. Conditions today were not ideal with a high pressure, bright sunshine and heavy conditions. The resident carp were swimming shallow on all the lakes but good ...
Conditions for qualifier No 20 were better than the previous few days with a drop in temperature to around 20C, overcast with a gentle breeze. That being said, there was a high pressure showing so the fish were swimming shallow ...
Conditions today presented a high pressure. There was a decent breeze which helped and fish showing shallow on most pegs. The 76 strong field chose to fish with pellet wagglers and method feeders fished at distance. Winner on the day ...
A field of 68 anglers faced very humid and near breathless conditions at The Glebe qualifier. Fish were swimming around shallow and difficult to catch but despite the conditions, there were 22 weights over 100lbs and 4 weights over 200lbs ...
Heavy overnight rain and a drop in temperatures could well of effected the catch rates for the 17th qualifier here at Lindholme Lakes. How wrong can you be. The fantastic complex produced 3 weights over 300lbs, 5 weights over 200lbs ...
Lakes :- Canal, Bridge, Island, Meadow and Match. Conditions today for the 16th Qualifier of the 2019 Golden Reel Campaign was near perfect with highs of around 22C, partial sun but mainly overcast and a gentle south westerly breeze. Fish ...
Lakes 1-9 were pegged for the 73 strong field of anglers. Conditions today could be compared with Spain with highs of 33C, no breeze and breathless. Many of the resident carp were swimming shallow so ‘mugging’ was the order of ...
Lakes – Cedar, Oak, Beasty & Elm. Near perfect conditions today with a light breeze, overcast with highs of around 18C. On the down side the resident carp were again showing all the signs of Spawning but this had no ...
Specimen & Match Lakes Severe rain for a week prior to this latest qualifier raised the level of the Specimen Lake by more than 10”. Such heavy rain was certain to effect the fishing but surprisingly weights were very respectable ...
Covey Lakes 1-6 Heavy rain for 3 solid days put colour on all the lakes and dropped the water temperature considerably. Also a strong north westerly wind made for difficult conditions for the 83 strong field of anglers. Winner today ...
Qualifier number 11 took place at the Heron Brook fishery in Staffordshire. The field faced a muggy and breathless day with temperatures rising to 25C with little or no breeze. Fish had spawned the previous week so conditions were very ...
Lakes – Pools 1,3,4,5,6,7,8 & 9. The 10th Golden Reel qualifier of the 2019 campaign took place at the popular Glebe fishery. Conditions today were not perfect with a strong and cold breeze and a drop in temperature to just ...
The latest qualifier at Larford Lakes was always going to be a difficult qualifier as the fish were all in spawning mode on both the Specimen and Match lakes. Coupled also with bright sunshine and zero breeze, big weights were ...
The popular Viaduct Fishery hosted the latest Golden Reel Qualifier. Conditions for the match were bright with warm sunshine and highs of around 15C.On the down side, there was little or no breeze and the week leading up to the ...
The latest qualifier hosted at Cambridgeshire’s Decoy Lakes was well attended with 70 anglers competing for the chance to make the prestigious September Grand Final. Conditions for this latest qualifier were difficult to say the least with strong wind of ...
A blistering hot day with highs of 25C and little or no breeze. Needless to say, the resident Woodland carp were all swimming shallow so mugging tactics became the order of the day. The 74 strong field were spread across ...
Lakes – 1-9 Another 100 peg sell out at the Glebe with all 9 lakes pegged for this popular qualifier. Conditions were far from perfect with temperatures of just 8C at best and a very cold easterly wind. To be ...
Lakes – Covey 1, 2, 3, 4 & 6 71 Anglers fished Conditions at Partridge Lakes today were difficult. Temperatures tumbled to just 6C, a heavy frost overnight coupled with a cold easterly wind plunged the fishery back into winter ...
A sell out again for the third Golden Reel Qualifier campaign. The lakes used today were the Specimen, Match and Arena. Conditions were far from ideal as the heavy rain, snow and hale from the previous week coupled with much ...
A sell out entry for the second Golden Reel Qualifier. Conditions today were fine, with bright sunshine and highs of around 14C. Winner today and making his way to the September Grand Final was Carl Barnfield. Carl fished a near ...
63 anglers booked onto the first of the 2019 qualifiers hosted at the fantastic Viaduct Fishery. Conditions on the day were good with highs of around 13c and a gentle easterly breeze. Lakes used today were Campbell, Lodge, Carey and ...
Golden Reel Qualifier – Larford Lakes – Saturday 25th August 2018
The final qualifier was fished today. Temperatures had dropped to just 6C on the morning.
Later, the temperature warmed up to around 16C with a gentle easterly breeze.
Winner today and grabbing the final qualification place was Danny Bache (Bag’em) who drew peg 35 on the Match Lake.
Danny fished a simple match feeding his edges with pellet and corn with pellet or corn on the hook.
The carp were there in numbers all match and he finished the day with a very impressive 243-00-00.
2nd on the day was Phil Canning (Frenzee) who drew peg 26 in the channel of the Match Lake.
Fishing the method tight to the island and later down his edges with dead reds landing 239-10-00, just one fish short of the winner.
3rd placed Simon Richardson (Dotem down Fatty’s) drew peg 30 on the match lake and fished paste all the day down his margins weighing in 210-10-00.
4th in the frame was Grant Albutt (Drennan) who drew peg 28 on the Match Lake.
Grant fished the method with pellet tight to the island and later fished the 6m pole with meat -landing 192-07-00.
5th overall was Scott Jones (Miracle Baits) with 179-11-00.
Scott fished the pellet at 6m and later down his edge with dead reds fished over ground bait.
6th in the frame was Sam Brown (Maver) who drew peg 12 on the Match Lake.
Sam weighed in 176-04-00 fishing his edges with dead reds over ground bait.
Our thanks to all the Larford Staff for hosting another superb qualifier.
Golden Reel Qualifier – Partridge Lakes – Friday 24th August 2018
The 23rd qualifier took place today. Conditions on the day was a big change with highs of just 14C and a stiff breeze with heavy rain showers all day.
Winner today was Partridge regular Chris Weeder Jnr (Maver NW / Spotted fin) who drew peg 56 on Covey 3.
Chris fished hard pellet short and maggot shallow landing 178-00-00 of carp and F1’s.
Chris now progresses to the September 15th Grand Final.
Chasing the winner was Mitch Rawinson (Fishing Republic) who drew peg 92 on Covey 4
Mitch also caught on hard pellet short and casters shallow weighing in 171-03-00 of carp and F1’s.
Third on the day was Ryan Bennett (Matrix Halifax) who drew peg 53 on Covey 3.
Ryan caught most of his fish on casters shallow and later down his edge on hard pellet finishing the day with 146-03-00.
Fourth placed Lee Thornton (Middy) drew peg 85 on Covey 4 and fished hard pellet at 13m to depth catching carp and F1’s for a total weight of 140-09-00.
Fifth in the frame was Matt Goodall (Marukyu) from peg 121 on Covey 5.
Matt fished pellet on the deck and caster shallow weighing in 132-08-00.
Sixth overall was Craig Haslam from peg 83 on Covey 4.
Craig fished most of his match with casters shallow and later down his edge with hard pellet to record a weight of 132-00-00.
Qualifier for the Grand Final –
Chris Weeder.
Our sincere thanks to Barbara and all the Partridge staff for hosting another brilliant qualifier.
Golden Reel Qualifier – Larford Lakes – Sunday 22nd July 2018
A very talented field of 83 anglers turned out in a blistering 30C heat with little breeze to cool things down.
Fish on both the Specimen and Match Lakes were swimming around shallow so many of the participating anglers targeted the pellet waggler or pole shallow.
Winner today was Dave Roberts (Tricast) with a magnificent 337-07-00 of carp all caught on the pellet waggler from the Specimen Lake, peg 7.
From the off Dave was into carp to 18lbs and later caught a few big units down his edge with corn over groundbait.
Dave was also knocked back on his weight as he went over the 75lbs net limit on three of his nets so his weight would have been closer to 390lbs which would have set a new Specimen Lake record.
All that being said, Dave put in a class performance and now looks forwards to a £50,000 finalist placing in September.
Second on the day was Polish star Prezmek Solski who continues to impress on both the feeder and pole skills.
Prezmek drew peg 1 on the Specimen Lake and fished the pellet waggler taking over 100lbs in the first hour of the match.
Later, switching to his edges on the pole fishing worm or corn over groundbait, the Polish superstar went on to land many more quality carp to finish his match with a massive 280-03-00
3rd on the day was Perry Stone who drew Match Burr peg 42.
Perry caught from the off fishing down his margins and short with pole and meat over groundbait.
Perry finished the day with 269-13-00 of carp and F1’s. He also tipped back over 25lbs of small F1’s to make space for the bigger carp he was catching so could have finished the day with over 290lbs which would have secured 2nd place.
4th to the frame was Danny Bache (Bag’em) who drew peg 35 on the Match Lake with 244-08-00.
Dan caught shallow with meat and pellet on the long pole and later switched to his edge with meat.
5th overall was Chris Cameron (Middy) who drew peg 64 on the Match Lake.
Chris went straight down his edge with pellet and corn landing 238-07-00 of carp and F1’s
6th place went to Nick Smith from peg 78 on the Specimen Lake.
Nick targeted the carp shallow with long pole and pellet and later down his margins with corn over groundbait landing a superb bag of carp that weighed in at 236-13-00.
From the field of anglers, there were –
26 weights over 100lbs
8 weights over 150lbs
5 weights over 200lbs
Topped by Dave Roberts with the winning weight of 337lb 7oz
So one can say, Larford really did produce its magic.
Our thanks to all the Larford team for hosting this big weigh qualifier.
The qualifiers that remain are-
Tunnel Barn on Saturday 28th July
Partridge Lakes on Friday 24th August.
Be sure to book your ticket to be in with a chance of that £50,000 prize.
Golden Reel Qualifier – Lindholme Lakes – Saturday 21st July 2018
The 21st qualifier took place today at the popular Lindholme fisheries.
Conditions today, very warm with a gentle breeze. 85 anglers competed for a place in the September Grand Final and it was Dale Shepherd (Maver / Bag’em) who progressed to the second Golden Reel final.
Dale drew peg 41 on the Laurels Lake and fished paste down his edge and casters shallow. Dale, who has been close to qualifying on several occasions weighing on 195-00-00 of carp and F1’s and now rewarded with his place in the final.
Chasing all the way to the final whistle was Keith Pearson who drew peg 19 on Laurel.
Keith fished caster shallow all day to finish his match with 188-12-00 just 6lb behind the winner.
3rd placed Howard Kelly (Matrix LTB) drew peg 20 on the willow and also fished his entire match on caster shallow.
Again, a big ton was recorded but his efforts fell just short recording a weight of 181-02-00.
4th placed Maikel Vid-Mee (Browning) from the Netherlands put in a classic display, fishing maggots down his edge to record a superb bag of carp and F1’s from the Bonsai Lake finishing the day with 177-01-00
5th to the frame was Steve Rothery who drew peg 36 on Bonsai.
Steve fished the bomb & pellet and later switched to his edges with corn & pellet to record 166-13-00 of carp and F1’s.
6th Overall was Tony Evans from peg 13 on Bonsai.
Tony fished caster shallow recording a weight of 164-13-00
So all in all, the inform Lindholme Lakes hosted a brilliant match.
There was a considerable number of 100lbs plus weight confirming Lindholme as one of, if not the best commercial fishery in the north of England.
Our sincere thanks to all the staff.
Golden Reel Qualifier -The Glebe – Wednesday 18th July 2018
The continued heat wave meant that the participating field of anglers faced temperatures of 26C with no breeze.
Fish as expected were swimming around shallow on all the lakes.
Winner of the 20th qualifier of the series was Dan Hull (Dynamite Baits) with a massive 315-14-00 of carp.
Dan’s approach was kicked into action fishing pellet shallow, which produced an early run of quality carp.
During the match, Dan switched to the 5m pole line fishing corn & pellet and later in the match, his edges produced well.
Dan drew peg 28 on pool1 and finished the match 46lbs clear of his nearest rival.
We look forwards to seeing Dan in the September final.
2nd on the day was Steve Openshaw (Lindmere) who again just missed out of a grand final placing.
Steve has finished in second and third place on countless occasions so hopefully will qualify from anyone of the remaining 4 qualifiers.
Steve drew peg 24 on Lake 1 and chose to fish most of his match down the edge with corn weighing in a very impressive 269-03-00.
3rd in the frame was Colmics Jamie Wilde who drew peg 6 on lake 1
Jamie fished most of his match on the long pole shallow and later switched to his edges to bag an impressive 252-13-00.
4th on the day was Richie Hull (Garbolino) who drew peg 1 on lake 1.
Richie fished bomb & pellet tight to the far reeds taking a steady run of carp.
Later, switching to the long pole with pellet shallow then finishing his match with a run of carp down his edges to weigh 238-10-00.
5th to the frame was Warren Jennings (Bag’em) with a weight of 232-00-00.
Warren drew peg 80 on lake 5 catching carp to long pole shallow with pellets and paste short.
6th overall was Luke Bamford who drew peg 94 on pool 6.
Luke fished paste short and down his edge to finish the day with 212-12-00.
Our thanks to Roy Marlow and all his staff for hosting yet another brilliant qualifier.
Weights were tremendous with 6 or 7 weights over 200lbs, countless 100lbs+ weights plus that magical 315lbs winning catch.
Golden Reel Qualifier – Heronbrook Fisheries – Saturday 14th July 2018
63 anglers turned out for this latest qualifier at the popular Heronbrook Fisheries.
Conditions on the day were highs of 26C with a little or no breeze and extremely humid.
The winner today was Matt Godfery (Guru) who drew Bridge Lake, peg 5.
Matt fished caster shallow feeding heavily all match and later switched to his edges with meat to bag a huge catch of F1’s and carp weighing in 263-06-00. 30lbs clear of his nearest rival.
So another Guru angler makes his way to the September Grand Final.
Second on the day was Jordan Holloway (Catch More Media) who drew peg 40 on the Match Lake.
Jordan targeted the carp swimming shallow with meat and also fished short with caster to land a superb bag of carp and F1’s that tipped the scales at 236-11-00.
3rd placed Darren Oliver drew the Island Lake, peg 19 weighing in 216-06-00 of carp and F1’s.
Darren caught most of his fish casting a method feeder to the island.
4th on the day was Mike Senior (Warrington Tackle & guns ). Mike drew the Bridge Pool, peg1 weighing in 215-08-00 fishing pellet shallow.
5th in the frame was Connor Barlow (Guru) who drew the Match Lake, peg 6.
Connor fished the caster shallow all day landing a brilliant 207-02-00 of F1’s.
6th Overall was Paul Carnwell (Garbolino, Bait Tec) with 202-08-00 from peg 15 on the Match Lake.
Paul’s attack was caster shallow which produced a fine catch of quality F1’s.
So in all, six weights over 200lbs with many weights of 100lbs + recorded.
Our thanks to Neil Dale and his fishery staff at Heronbrook for hosting yet again a superb Golden Reel Qualifier.
Golden Reel Qualifier – The Glebe – Saturday 30th June 2018
One can only describe today’s match as having conditions that would compare to temperatures similar to Africa with highs of 29-30C.
As luck would have it, we were blessed with a cooling east wind, which did help the field of angler get to grip with the scorching conditions.
Fish were swimming shallow on all the lakes so difficult to catch but as ever, the brilliant Glebe complex produced no fewer than 29 weights over 100lbs and 3 weights breaking the magical 200lbs barrier.
86 anglers fished today and it was Jake King (Trabucco / Bag’em) who won the day with a very impressive 227-15-00.
Jake drew peg 86 on pool 6 and fished the pellet waggler with 6mm banded pellet and later switched to his margins fishing worm over micro pellets.
Chasing Jake was Jack Harness (Daiwa) who drew peg 129 on lake 9.
Jack fished caster shallow long down his reed edges and also found carp short on pellet.
Jack finished the day with 209-13-00.
3rd in the frame was Sam Collett (Guru / Dynamite Baits) from peg 1 on pool 1.
Sam fished the pellet waggler for most of the match and later switched to his edges fishing hard pellets and landing a near all catch of carp for 206-02-00
4th on the day was Barry Mason (Guru) who drew peg 84 on lake 5.
Fishing the short pole with hard pellet and later tight down his edges, Barry recorded a weight of 158-04-00.
5th placed Phil Canning (Frenzee) drew peg 91 on pool weighing in 156-07-00 to the pole fished at just 5m with hard pellet.
6th in the frame was Richard Holmes (Jewsons, Halifax) with 145-14-00.
Richard drew peg 30 on Lake 1 fishing the long pole shallow with cornskins.
Later fishing at 10m and down his edge with paste to bag a fine bag of quality carp.
So again the brilliant Glebe produced some superb weights and our thanks to Roy Marlow and all his fishery staff for hosting this excellent qualifier.
Golden Reel Qualifier – Decoy Lakes – Wednesday 20th June 2018
Bright sunshine, but a stiff breeze greeted the field of anglers hoping to secure a place in the September Grand Final for a shot at the £50,000 prize.
The resident carp were swimming around shallow but difficult to catch and the edge fish fed late in the match.
Winner today was Andy Stepney from Grantham who drew peg 26 on the Oak Lake.
Andy fished most of his match down the edge, feeding micro pellet with corn, dead reds and worm hook baits he found some good quality carp to 8lbs to finish the day with 166-03-00.
Chasing the winner hard was second placed Dale Shepherd (Maver / Bagem) who finished the day just 2lb short of the winner.
Dale drew peg 18 on Cedar and fished micro pellet down his edges with worm hook baits, finishing the day with 164-04-00.
3rd placed Nick Smith drew peg 6 on Oak landing 159-12-00 fishing down his edges, feeding micro pellet and worm hook baits.
4th on the day was Daniel Brydon (Wensom Valley AC Matrix) who drew peg 3 on the Beastie Lake.
Dan’s attack was bomb & pellet, which produced a fine bag of carp and barbel for a total weight of 153-02-00
5th to the frame was Ben Bell (Maver) who fished the long pole with pellet. Consistently pinging pellet, Ben went on to land 149-11-00 from peg 1 on the Oak Lake.
6th overall was Tom Edwards (Frenzee / Dynamite ) who drew peg 24 on Cedar Lake.
Tom fished down his edges over micro pellet and worm hook baits landing 148-07-00.
A very big thank you to Decoy Lakes for hosting yet another superb qualifier.
Golden Reel Qualifier – Larford Lakes – Saturday 16th June 2018
Conditions were again difficult. A strong SW wind hit the lakes all day and there was bright sunshine with highs of around 20C.
Clearly there was a pressure change and the bream & carp were reluctant to feed.
The winner was Jason Brown (Maver Midlands / Dynamite Baits) who drew peg 37 on the Match Lake.
Jason had the advantage of some extra space and made the most of his draw landing a fine catch of carp and F1’s for a total weight of 133-12-00.
Jason caught all of his fish on corn down his edges and now progresses to the September Grand Final.
2nd on the day was Larford fishery bailiff, Martin Harrell who drew peg 16 on the Arena Lake.
The Arena was also moody with fish swimming shallow but hard to catch.
Martin’s approach was bomb and pellet with loose fed pellets in quantity.
At the whistle, Martin weighed in 108-06-00 of carp to 8lbs.
3rd placed Matt Greening (Milo / Bait Tec) drew peg 64 on the Match Lake and fished short on the pole with pellet.
Later in the match, Matt switched to his edges with meat finding some quality carp to finish the day with 108-03-00.
4th in the frame was Simon Harris (Telford) from peg 54 on the Match Lake.
Simon fished the pole short with soft pellet catching carp and F1’s
Later switching to his edge with 8mm pellet and corn, Simon found some of the larger carp to finish the day with 104-05-00.
5th placed Phil Canning (Frenzee) drew peg 14 on the Specimen Lake landing 98-02-00 of carp.
Phil fished the method at 20m with dead reds and later down his edge over ground bait with dead reds as hook bait.
6th overall was John Jones with 90-11-00 from peg 48 on the Match Lake.
John fished short on the pole with pellet and later switched to his edges with meat.
Our thanks to Larford Lakes and all the staff for hosting an excellent qualifier.
Golden Reel Qualifier – Heronbrook Fisheries – Saturday 9th June 2018
Conditions today were not ideal as the field of anglers faced flat calm lakes, bright sunshine with highs of around 24C.
Fish were swimming shallow so the main plan of attack was to fish shallow with casters and pellet.
The winner was Welsh International Mikey Williams (Guru / Mainline) who drew peg 3 on the Island Lake.
Mikey fished maggot shallow to catch a superb 247lbs of quality F1’s and carp.
Later in the match, Mikey switched to his edges fishing over ground bait to boost his F1 catch with some quality carp.
Well done Mikey, who now progresses to the September Grand Final at Larford Lakes.
Chasing Mikey all the way was Kirk Webber who drew peg 13 on the Island Lake.
Kirk also chose to fish caster shallow landing a brilliant bag of quality F1’s for a total weight of 238lbs backed up with some carp down his edges over ground bait with dead reds as hook bait.
3rd on the day was Pete Cooper (Lindmere)
Peter drew peg 19 on the Island Lake and also fished caster shallow recording an all F1 weight of 218lbs.
4th placed Matt Higgins (Matrix Leigh Tackle & Bait) chose to fish the method to start and later switched to his shallow rig with casters to record a superb 195lbs of big F1’s and a few carp.
5th overall was Stockport’s Damien Bracken (Garbolino). Damien drew peg 26 on the Bridge Lake and fished caster shallow all match to weigh 185lbs of F1’s and carp.
6th in the frame was Grant Albutt (Drennan, Dynamite Baits) with 140lbs from peg 6 on the Canal Lake.
Grant fished caster shallow.
Once again, some superb weights were recorded and our thanks to the Heronbrook Fishery and all their staff.
Clearly, HeronBrook is without doubt, one of the best F1 venues in the country.
Golden Reel Qualifier – Barston Lakes – Sunday 3rd June 2018
Very hot conditions with highs of around 25C and virtually no breeze presented difficult conditions for the 93 participating anglers
The near sell out field had to chase cruising carp with pellet wagglers and shallow pole tactics.
Needless to say, the carp were very difficult to catch and swimming around in numbers shallow on just about every peg.
It was Jack Danby (Matchman Supplies / Dynamite baits ) who took the honours, qualifying for the September £50k final with a weight of 120-04-00 from peg 69.
Jack fished at 16m with the pole fishing shallow with banded hard pellets and constantly pinging pellets.
Most of Jack’s fish were quality carp which came steadily all day.
2nd on the day was Andy Power (Preston) who had qualified from the previous day at Partridge Lakes.
Rather than waste his ticket, Andy decided to fish and was rewarded with a superb bag of carp, all caught on the pellet waggler from peg 55. Andy finished the day with 119-08-00.
3rd placed Mark Skidmore (Larford) drew peg 13 and started his match taking a couple of early fish on the pellet waggler. Later switching to bomb & pellet and method feeder casting just 30m, Mark went on to land 79-04-00 of carp and F1’s.
4th overall was Simon Wilsmore (Rive) who drew peg12 and started his match casting around 30m with the method feeder and boilie hook baits.
Simon fed 8mm pellets over the top and was rewarded with 70-08-00 of quality carp and F1’s.
5th in the frame was Adam Playford (Dersingham) who drew peg 16 landing 67-10-00 of carp and F1’s to the method feeder fished at 30m.
6th overall was Geoff Valance (Preston) with 56-14-00 from peg 71.
Geoff fished all of the match with pellet waggler.
Our thanks to Nigel and all the Barston fishery staff for hosting an excellent qualifier.
Golden Reel Qualifier – Partridge Lakes – Saturday 2nd June 2018
Warm humid conditions for this latest qualifier with little or no breeze but overcast.
Fish had begun spawning and weights were down on previous matches.
The field was below normal due to difficult conditions due to spawning.
52 anglers turned out hoping to clinch a grand final placing and it was the legend himself, Andy Power (Preston) who progresses to the September £50k final.
Andy drew peg 128 on covey 5, fishing at just 7m with maggot down the track, Andy caught steadily all match to weigh in 107-01-00 of F1’s and carp.
Chasing Andy was John Jones (Garbolino) who drew peg 2 on covey 1.
John fished the same tactics, fishing at 7m with maggot and later down his edge with worm over gorundbait to weigh 94-05-00 of carp and F1’s.
3rd on the day was England junior international Kristian Jones (Tricast / Bag’em) who drew peg 27 on covey 2.
Kristian also fished down the track with maggot landing 82-12-00.
4th placed Barry Grigg drew peg 85 on covey 4 and fished 6mm pellet to depth and loose fed pellets to land 74-01-00.
5th placed Barry Bush (Birkenhead) drew peg 31 on covey 2.
Barry fished down the track with maggot landing 74-01-00 of quality F1’s.
6th to the frame was Pete Tickle (Maver N/W) who drew peg 110 on covey 5.
He also fished down the track landing 71-04-00 of F1’s.
Indeed, conditions proved to be difficult and the fish clearly had other things on their mind.
That being said it was a great match and very well hosted and organised by Partridge Lakes.
Our thanks are extended to Barbara and all the fishery staff.
Golden Reel Qualifier – Lindholme Lakes – Saturday 26th May 2018
The twelfth Golden Reel qualifier took place at the popular Lindhome Lakes on Sunday.
Conditions for the event were good with bright sunshine and highs of around 20C
The only down side was a strong easterly wind that made for difficult presentation with the pole on some of the pegs.
Winner of this qualifier was fishing machine, Andy Bennett, who now progresses to his second Golden Reel Final.
Andy drew peg 19 on the Laurel Lake and chose to fish the long pole directly to an island with corn over pellet feed.
He fished a faultless match and it was indeed a please and education to watch him.
The Guru / Tricast /ABC sponsored F1 master landed carp and F1’s from the whistle finishing the day with a tremendous 227-06-00.
Second on the day was Preston sponsored Frankie Gianoncelli who drew peg 5 on Laurel.
Frankie had a slow start but a change of wind direction provided him with the opportunity to feed casters shallow and F1’s came thick and fast.
At the scales, Frankie weighed in a level 180lbs all to the 14m pole with caster hook bait.
Third placed Stuart Fotheringham (Daiwa) drew peg 13 on Laurel and fished caster shallow at 10m.
The defending Golden Reel Champion caught steady all match weighing 150-02-00.
4th on the day was Andy Power (Preston) who drew peg 39 on Laurel.
Andy fished the long pole to an island fishing hard pellet and feeding the same. He ended up with 149-05-00 of carp and F1’s.
Fifth placed Dale Sheperd (Maver) drew peg 5 on the Beech Lake and fished long pole to some bushes down his edge with pellet to land 137-12-00
Sixth in the frame was Steve Mazza with 125-12-00 from peg 19 on the Willow Lake.
Steve fished caster shallow at 12m.
Our thanks to the brilliant Lindholme Lakes for hosting the twelfth qualifier and a big thank you to all the fishery staff.
The final is certain to be a must view event in September with a powerful line up of top flight anglers already making their way to the 50k big money final.
With twelve qualifiers remaining, you could be looking at the most powerful line up of match anglers in the country going head to head for the Golden Reel title.
Golden Reel Qualifier – The Glebe – Wednesday 23rd May 2018
Due to clashes with Fish ‘O’ Mania, UK Championship and a festival at Lindholme lakes, attendances were a little disappointing for this latest mid-week qualifier.
That being said, the field was very talented and difficulty to guess who or where it was going to be won.
Conditions were warm and bright but a difficult and cold easterly wind changed the form book. Certain ‘flyer’ pegs didn’t produce as expected.
Winner on the day was the very talented Jamie Hughes who now makes his way into the September Final.
His remarkable performance now puts him into three major finals and a possibility of pocketing a total prize fund of more than £150k.
Jamie’s MAP & Bag’em sponsors must be delighted with his performance and who would bet against him to win the 3 major titles this season.
Jamie drew peg 76 on lake 5 and had a slowish start to the match. Then finding fish at 5m and long on the pole shallow to pellet, Jamie netted some quality carp to start his push towards an overall win.
Later switching to his edge, went on to amass a superb 232-02-00 and his first final placing in the Golden Reel championship.
However, Jamie was chased hard by second placed Mark Stainsby who drew peg 104 on lake 7.
Mark fished the pellet waggler for most of his match but also caught a few carp to the feeder.
Mark finished the day with 224-06-00 just 8lb short of the winner.
3rd on the day was Luke Bamford who drew peg 80 on lake 5.
Luke’s attack was paste at 13m & short to weigh a very impressive 189-14-00.
4th placed Steve Openshaw drew peg 102 on pool 7 and fished pole and pellet shallow weighing in 157-08-00.
5th on the day was Rob Morris from peg 85 on lake 5. Rob fished the feeder with pellet and later switched to his edges on the pole to weigh in 156-03-00.
6th placed Grant Albutt (Drennan) drew peg 50 on Lake 3 fishing bomb and pellet to the far bank for most of his fish.
Later fishing his edge with the pole & corn to finish the day with 150-08-00.
Our thanks to Roy Marlow and all his staff for hosting yet again a superb qualifier.
Golden Reel Qualifier – Westwood Lakes – Sunday 20th May 2018
Falcon & Osprey Lakes.
A respectable 59 anglers turned out for this latest qualifier. Conditions on the day were warm, bright with a gentle breeze.
Most of the field targeted fish swimming shallow with pole and pellet.
Winner on the day was Richard Bond (Tri-Cast / Van Den Eynde) with a weight of 161-12-00.
Richard caught shallow on pellet and later down his edges landing carp and F1’s from Falcon Lake, peg 2.
Rich Progresses to the September Grand Final.
2nd on the day was Tom Edwards (Frenzee / Dynamite Baits) with 156-04-00 from Osprey, peg 5.
Tom fished short with pellet and down his edges landing carp and F1’s.
3rd placed Sam Morgan (Westwood Lakes) drew peg 3 on Osprey weighing in 149-04-00.
Sam fished short with pellets and later caught down his edges.
4th on the day was Carl Lee-Hopps with 129-08-00 of F1’s from peg 7 on Osprey.
Carl caught short and shallow with pellet.
5th placed Allan Bickley drew peg 8 on Osprey recording 119-14-00 of carp and F1’s
6th in the frame was Andy Bennett with an all F1 catch of 112-06-00.
Andy drew peg 20 on the Falcon Lake.
Golden Reel Qualifier – Viaduct Fishery – Saturday 12th May 2018
Lakes :- Campbell, Cavy, Lodge & Spring
83 anglers turned out for this latest qualifier. Conditions on the day were bright sunshine but a cold easterly breeze.
The drop in temperature stopped the fish from feeding to a point and weights were down compared to a few days previous.
That being said, the brilliant Viaduct Fishery still provided plenty of excellent weights.
Over all the winner on the day was Paul Morris who drew peg 121 on the Campbell Lake.
Paul fished 8mm pellet on the pole to depth and later down his margin feeding 6mm pellet as feed.
His total weight was 184-08-00, well over 50lbs clear of his nearest rival.
Paul progresses to the Grand Final in September.
Second on the day was Nick Miller (Mossella) who drew peg 111 on Campbell.
Nick chose to fish bomb & pellet both long and short landing a very impressive 130-14-00 of carp.
Third placed David Crandon drew peg 94 on the Cavy Pool and fished pole and pellet down his edges recording a weight of 128-02-00.
Fourth on the day was Danny Bache (Bag’em). Dan drew peg 135 on Campbell and fished the long pole pinging pellets and later switched to his edges to land 116-08-00 of carp.
Fifth placed Tony Gilbert (Thatchers) drew 132 on Campbell and opted to fish the long pole with pellet which produced quality carp for a total weight of 112-00-00
Sixth overall was Chris kitchin (Matrix) who drew peg 61 on the Lodge Lake.
Chris fished at 5m with meat and also down his margin to record a weight of 103-08-00
All in all, an excellent qualifier well organised by the Viaduct staff.
Our sincere thanks for hosting a superb qualifier.
Golden Reel Qualifier – Decoy Lakes – Saturday 28th April 2018
Conditions for the 8th Golden Reel Qualifier were far from perfect with heavy cold rain overnight, a stiff north wind and temperatures of just 5C.
Hardly late April conditions which was more like January weather to say the least.
72 anglers braved the adverse weather and it was Adam Major (Wensom Valley, Matrix / Marukyu) who won the day.
Adam drew peg 4 on the Beastie Lake and fished short with pellet finding some quality carp. Later switching to his margins with dead reds to finish the day with 152-04-00 and a place in the September Grand Final.
Second on the day was local rod Jon Whincup (Frenzee). Jon drew peg 7 on the Beastie Lake and chose to fish the 14m pole with pellet to land an impressive 124-02-00.
Third placed Lee Thornton (Middy) drew peg 5 on cedar fishing most of his match down the edges with maggots weighing in 117-01-00.
Nick Smith was fourth overall with a weight of 106-04-00 from peg 26 on Oak.
Nick chose to fish a simple but effective match with the short pole & pellet landing some good carp.
Fifth on the day was Jimmy Brooks who drew peg 24 on cedar.
Jimmy fished the long pole with pellet and later switched to his edges with maggot to land 104-03-00.
Sixth overall was Matt Higgins from peg 7 on the Elm Lake.
Matt fished the short pole with pellets weighing in 97-13-00.
All in all, conditions were far from perfect but a big compliment to Decoy Lakes, which as always produced some excellent sport.
Our thanks to Decoy Lakes and all the fishery staff for hosting an excellent qualifier.
Golden Reel Qualifier – Partridge Lakes – Saturday 21st April 2018
Considering the number of major events clashing with this latest qualifier, numbers were good with 82 anglers turning out to hopefully qualify for the £50K September final.
Conditions at last were perfect with highs of 23C and a gentle SW breeze.
The previous two days of very warm sunshine certainly woke up all the resident F1’s and carp and the match produced a staggering 48 100lbs+ weights topped by three weights over 200lbs.
Winner was Les Marshall (Dynamite / Elite Elastics) who drew peg 17 on the Spey Lake.
Les fished worm down his edges and caster shallow, landing a massive 266-11-00.
Fishing a near perfect match weighing in mainly F1’s to finish the day over 30lbs clear of second place.
Runner up today was Steve Openshaw (Maruku / Mossella) who drew peg 70 on Covey 3.
Steve fished the pole with caster shallow and worms down his edge landing 231-15-00. Steve is making it a habit of finishing second, so hopefully he will make the final soon.
Third on the day was Ryan Lidgard with 201-05-00 of F1’s and carp.
Ryan drew peg 104 on covey 5 and fished pellet down his edges and caster shallow.
Fourth placed Kieron Marsden (Cresta / Dynamite) drew peg 5 on Marsh and chose to fish caster shallow and down his edges weighing in 199-12-00.
Fifth in the match was Ian Kent (Spotted fin) who drew peg 80 on Covey 4.
Ian fished a simple match by fishing shallow at just 5m recording a very impressive 191-00-00
6th placed Jake Nightingale fished pellet tight to the far bank and caster shallow to record a weight of 190-02-00.
What a brilliant match for all the field with 48 big 100lbs + catches and three weights breaking the magical 200lbs barrier.
Partridge Lakes must be the jewel in the crown with catches like these.
A big thank you to Barbara and the entire fishery staff for hosting this remarkable qualifier.
Golden Reel Qualifier – The Glebe – Sunday 15th April 2018
A near full house of 98 anglers participated in the 6th Golden Reel qualifier at the famous Glebe Fishery.
Two anglers failed to show, otherwise a full house of 100 anglers competed today for a place in the £50k Grand Final.
Winner today was Mark Griffiths (Daiwa/ Guru) who drew peg 1 on Lake 1.
Mark found feeding carp instantly on the pellet waggler shallow and caught at pace all day. Fishing 8mm pellet, Mark caught carp to 5lbs every cast and also found a few carp at 14m on the pole and pellet down his edge.
The Daiwa/Guru sponsored angler fished a near perfect match finally bringing a massive 272-15-00 to the scales.
Second on the day was Welsh rod Richard A’herne (Frenzee) who drew next to the winner on peg 2, lake 1.
Rich started on the feeder casting inches away from the far bank. This method provided plenty of bites from the feeding carp.
Later, Rich switched to the pellet waggler and bagged for the last two hours of the match.
At the whistle, Rich weighed an impressive 128-10-00 of carp.
3rd placed Lee Farmer drew peg 90 on pool 6 and fished the pellet waggler all day with banded 8mm pellet landing 123-05-00 of carp to 5lbs.
4th on the day was welsh rod Mikey Williams (Guru). Mike drew peg 31 on pool 2 and fished the 16m pole for five hours catching carp and a few bream to pellets to record a weight of 122-05-00
5th placed Mark Jones (Tredegar Tackle) drew pool 9 peg 120.
Mark set off at pace landing around 80lbs of fish in the first two hours but his swim died later in the match.
Mark recorded a weight of 113-09-00.
6th on the day was Sam Collett (Guru) with 112-01-00 from peg 50 on pool 3.
Sam fished the pole down his edge with pellet for most of the match.
As always a brilliant match at the Glebe and a very big thank you to Roy Marlow and all his staff.
Golden Reel Qualifier – Colemans Cottage – Saturday 14th April 2018
Lakes – Stepfield, Wood & Pathfield.
A disappointing attendance for this southern qualifier with only 45 anglers attending.
Again there was a big opportunity for the anglers in this area to enjoy an execellent days fishing at the fantastic Colemans Cottage fishery.
Conditions were excellent with highs of 16C, a gentle breeze and fish feeding shallow and to depth.
The winner today progressing to the 50,000 Grand Final in September was Pemb Wrighting who drew peg 8 on the Stepfield Lake.
The Guru sponsored angler started his match catching carp shallow and later switched to the long pole with pellet landing a very impressive 151-08-00 of carp.
Chasing Pemb all the way was Cliff Adams who drew peg 40 on the Wood lake.
Cliff was just over 5lbs behind the winner after the 5 hours, weighing in 144-00-00 to long pole & pellet.
3rd on the day was Peter Upperton (Guru / Bag’em) who drew peg 2 on the Wood Lake.
Pete caught his fish dobbing with pellet and later down his edge to record 143-08-00 at the scales.
4th placed Jason Collins (Map / Bait Tech) drew peg 1 on Stepfield again catching shallow on the pole and down his edges on pellet.
Jason weighed an impressive 128-08-00.
6th on the day was Geoff Edwards from peg 38 on the Wood Lake.
Geoff caught shallow and down his edge with pellets weighing in a level 124-00-00.
All in all, a brilliant match hosted by the brilliant Colemans Cottage.
Our thanks to all the management and fisher staff.
Golden Reel Qualifier – Larford Lakes – Sunday 8th April 2018
60 anglers fished this latest qualifier at Colmic / Bag’em Larford lakes.
The conditions presented near flat calm water with a few light showers early in the match.
The specimen lake still has very low water temperatures so sport was far from what it should be for early April.
Certain pegs on the Match Lake produced some good results but the Specimen Lake remained very moody.
Winner on the day was Ian Wood who drew peg 38 on the Match Lake.
Ian was tucked away in the top bowl of the Match Lake and presented paste bait down his edge landing a superb 236-00-00 of carp & F1’s.
Ian’s weight was over 135lbs clear of his nearest rival and puts him in with a chance of pocketing the massive £50,000 in the September final.
2nd on the day was Ray Lamb who drew fancied peg 30 on the Match Lake.
Ray fished the pole with pellet landing carp and F1’s. During the match Ray lost a number of fish in the lily beds but still weighed a superb 130-13-00.
3rd placed Warren Jennings (Bag’em) is probably one of the most unlucky anglers out there. Having fished 4 qualifiers to date, He’s finished in the top 6 in all of them.
Warren drew peg 48 on the Specimen Lake catching 4 big carp long with pellet then later switching to his edges to find 8 big carp down his margins to weight 126-12-00. Warren caught his edge with corn.
4th placed Lee Pesticcio (Mossella) had a brilliant match fishing peg 10 on the Match Lake.
From the all in, Lee had fish showing in his margins so that became his main focus. Fishing pellet and corn, he went on to weigh 121-11-00 of quality carp and F1’s.
5th placed Alison Jones (Colmic) fished a very tidy match fishing corn down her margins landing 94-00-00 of quality carp and F1’s.
6th on the day was Phil Canning (Frenzee) with 85-07-00 from peg 66 on the Specimen Lake. Most of Phil’s fish came to corn on the pole.
Our thanks to Larford Lakes and all the fishery staff.
Golden Reel Qualifier – Monk Lakes – Saturday 7th April 2018
A disappointing turn out of 57 anglers due to a busy match calendar across the country and lack of support from the southern match anglers.
For qualifier to continue in the south of England the southern anglers will have to show their support for any future qualifiers or lose the opportunity of qualifiers in these given areas.
Those that failed to support this qualified lost the opportunity to fish a brilliant match at the fantastic Monk Lakes fishery.
Weights were tremendous so full credit to Monk Lakes and all their staff.
Winner on the day was Ross Harold who drew peg 67 on Lake 2.
Ross fished the 13m pole to the far bank of the lake with soft hook pellets landing 171-04-00 of carp.
But it was a close run result and Ross was less than 2lbs clear of second place. That being said, he fished a brilliant match and now progresses to the grand final in September.
Second on the day was James Taylor who drew peg 70 on Lake 2.
James also fished the long pole to the far bank with soft hook pellets landing 169-14-00.
One more fish would have put him through to the 50k final.
3rd placed Mike Macmillan drew peg 58 on Lake 2 and fished the long pole with soft hookers landing 162-10-00.
His efforts could easily have put him through to the grand final. 2 more fish would have probably been enough.
4th on the day was Richard Bond from peg 112 on lake 3.
Rich fished 14m with 4mm expanders weighing in 156-08-00.
5th placed Derek Gladwin fished pellet over groundbait long and down his edges to finish the day with 151-12-00 from peg 16 on lake 1.
6th on the day was Perry Stone who drew peg 8 on Lake 1 weighing in 136-08-00.
A brilliant match and full credit to the brilliant Monk Lakes and all its staff.
Golden Reel Qualifier – Larford Lakes – Saturday 31st March 2018
90 anglers turned out for the second qualifier of the 2018 series of qualifiers.
Conditions were not favourable with a stiff easterly wind and temperatures of just 4-5C.
Furthermore, heavy overnight rain reduced the water temperature further. Needless to say, fishing was difficult with most of the resident carp and bream shutting shop.
Winner on the day was Mick Bull (Frenzee / Bag’em) who drew peg 9 on the Arena Lake.
Mick started his match on the method with popped up bread landing 3 early carp.
Later switching to the 14m pole, Mick caught quality carp steady all match to hard pellet & corn to weigh an impressive 97-00-00.
Mick makes his way to the September Grand Final.
2nd on the day was Pete Jones (Colmic) who drew peg 86 on the Specimen Lake.
Pete had a great first four hours catching carp to 15lbs on the pole fished at 8m with corn. Later in the match, Pete switched to his edge to find some more quality carp.
With an hour remaining, both of his swims died so he had to settle for 75-15-00 and runner up spot.
3rd placed Richard Maturi drew peg 82 on the Specimen Lake and fished at 10m for the duration of the match.
Rich fished corn landing carp to 15lbs and weighing a total of 75-13-00.
4th on the day was Warren Jennings (Bag’em) who drew peg 11 on the Arena Lake.
Warren fished at 14m with hard pellet and corn to weigh 65-03-00.
5th placed Ray Lamb (Larford) drew peg 10 on the Specimen Lake and found some early carp on the method. Later switching to his 6m line with corn to add a couple more carp to weigh 58-08-00
6th on the day was Steve Rocke (Larford) who drew peg 56 on the Match Lake.
Steve fished the pellet cone short with corn to weigh 50-11-00.
Our thanks to Larford Lakes and all the staff for hosting the second national qualifier.
Our congratulations to Mick Bull for reaching the Grand Final.
Golden Reel Qualifier – Viaduct Fishery – Saturday 24th March 2018
The first Golden Reel qualifier for 2018 took place at the fabulous Viaduct fishery on Saturday.
86 anglers turned out hoping to secure the first big money qualification spot.
Conditions were much better than previous weeks with a mixture of sunshine and cloud cover with a gentle breeze and highs of 14C
Winner on the day was Dan White (Garbolino / Spotted Fish) who drew peg 85 on Cary’s Lake.
Dan caught on the 16m pole pinging pellets fished to depth weighing a very impressive 178lbs of quality carp.
2nd placed Charlie Dalton (Rive Homestores) was right up there in the race to qualify falling just 5lbs short with a weight of 173-05-00 from peg 15 on Spring.
Charlie caught most of his fish a meat fished in the margins fished at 8m.
3rd on the day was Luke Hancock who drew peg 112 on Campell. Luke fished pole & pellet fished at 14.5m with his 6m meat line producing some quality carp later in the match. Luke finished the day with 152-07-00.
4th placed Matt Blackmore ( Garbolino / Dynamite) continued his good form weighing in 140-09-00 from peg 113 on Cambell.
Matt fished at 14.5 with meat and later switched to his 6m line with meat landing quality carp.
5th on the day was Nick Chedzoy who drew peg 111 on Campbell.
Nick caught most of his fish on the lead with pellet and meat to weigh 139-00-00.
6th placed Warren Jennings (Bag’em) drew peg 114 on Campbell and fished long pole with pellet and meat short to finish the day with 138-06-00.
So all in all, a brilliant qualifier returning very impressive weights from all the lakes.
A very well done to all the Viaduct fishery staff for hosting a very impressive qualifier.
